TBS – King of the Nerds – Review!

With these immortal words, let the games begin! TBS sent InvestComics an advance screening of the newest reality television series “King of the Nerds” and boy was it intergalactic! (That’s my version of saying it was fun). This series is an 8 week competition to see who will win $100,000 and MORE importantly be crowned the “King of the Nerds!”

At the very onset of the show, the viewers quickly learn what they are getting into. We meet, in no particular order; a Neuroscientist, Mathematician, Geophysicist, Nasa Engineer, Master Hacker, Fantasy writer, Video Game Blogger, Comics and Gaming Nerd, Pro Gamer, Role Playing Game Designer and a Comic Book Nerd. Quite the eclectic group one might say, while true, they are very likeable….except for the Master Hacker “Virgil” which reminds us of that person you think you know, but know at any moment they may snap and hurt someone (not saying he would, but boy is he scary in a strange way). There are a set of 11 players in the battle royal here, but they are quickly put on sides as the first breakdown of emotion’s come before the 11 minute mark! Not too bad for a bunch of misfits. The “regular reality” shows usually have a person breaking down before the 8 minute mark, so kudos nerds. The choosing of sides is done in a colorful manner in which you most likely never have seen on a reality show. While cute at first, it gets old quick, but unique/silly nonetheless. With that though, we do get our first big surprise of the series. Pleasantly unexpected!

For all the fanboys watching a quick note; there are at least 3 nerd girls that are very appealing on the eyes in a nerd sort of way. Quite sure this wasn’t done intentionally right? Yea it probably was, but who cares?? Hot girl nerd power!

As the show progresses into the strategy portion, alliances are formed as the nerds converge into little groups in the most awkward strategy reality bit you will probably witness. Our pal Virgil is still a strange duck. The whole process/segment is like a train wreck, turn away you must, but look you will. All and all, it’s a fun segment that turns out to be more of a learning tool for the viewer on who really is who and what power they do possess to bring to the table.

The teams are chosen as we approach the first “Nerd Off.” Boy is that a spectacular title isn’t it? Let’s say that again shall we? Ready….Nerd Off. Okay so we get to the picking of 2 players to be chosen by team members to battle in the Nerd Off. The loser of the Nerd Off (yes I will keep saying this, deal with it) will get eliminated from the game.

The Nerd Off challenge itself is a superb one. This viewer didn’t expect to see it played this way and it was welcomed in my nerd world. It’s both sexy and violent!

The players have much to offer personality wise as viewers will probably pick and choose sides very quickly. I for one have my two favorites and I am torn as to who I want to be crowned. Is it the nerd girl that claims to be an 11 on the scale of 1-10, or is it the coolness/smoothness of Celeste? I’m guessing as the show progresses, either one will be eliminated or one will just get on my nerves and fall out of favor. We shall wait and see.

Overall the show definitely has broad appeal to it. It will have comic book, gamers, Batman fanatics, engineers and real smart people watching. Fans of reality television should jump on board too because of the unexpected turns this show will probably offer. The “unexpected” is always an appealing trait to have on a reality series.

Executive Producers and hosts of the show Curtis Armstrong and Robert Carradine of the Revenge of the Nerds films have hit a home run here. They both display a sincere fondness and genuine happiness of the show they are involved in. Being involved within the geek culture to some capacity makes it a bit easier for me to understand the happening’s of what is taking place from commercial break to snack break. For anyone that is not familiar with this culture, don’t fret, you will quickly come to the understanding that being a nerd is actually cool and fun.

Don’t miss this show on TBS Thursday January 17at 10pm/9c.

Jay Katz

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1 thought on “TBS – King of the Nerds – Review!”

I’ve always known that being a nerd is cool and fun lol! That is why I’m actually pretty excited to see what this show has to offer. One of the girls I work with at DISH showed me the trailer for it yesterday, and I think it looks promising. I guess I will find out tomorrow night after I get off of work! I will miss the live broadcast, but luckily I made sure to set a recording timer for it on my DISH Hopper. I have 2,000 hours of entertainment I can store now, so even if I don’t like the show, I’ll still have plenty of room for all the others I’ll be recording this year as well! 🙂